[Jimmy Splash]

Hi, I currently live in PA and the weather is going to be quite cold for the next few months. I have a 2011 335i xdrive sedan with a bms intake and vrsf catback currently. I am looking to get vrsf catless downpipes, jb4 tune, and a VRSF fmic. My question is since it will be quite cold here for awhile would i be able to hold off on the fmic upgrade till spring to save some money and just not go crazy with the tune until I acquire the fmic upgrade?

[Turbod]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Splash

Hi, I currently live in PA and the weather is going to be quite cold for the next few months. I have a 2011 335i xdrive sedan with a bms intake and vrsf catback currently. I am looking to get vrsf catless downpipes, jb4 tune, and a VRSF fmic. My question is since it will be quite cold here for awhile would i be able to hold off on the fmic upgrade till spring to save some money and just not go crazy with the tune until I acquire the fmic upgrade?

IMO you should skip the VRSF DP and grab the Performance line one from Mike@N54Tuning.com. Better quality at the same price. The intercooler really comes down to how you drive your car and how much boost you plan to run. For single pulls here and there you will be fine with the stock one in the winter. If you are adding some E and running high boost IATs will climb faster.

[Jimmy Splash]

How much would you recommend to bump the boost during the winter without a fmic upgrade? I'm really honestly just hungry for more sound and don't really want to wait till spring to upgrade the pipes and tune but doing it all plus fmic is a little out of budget for right now. After tax refunds ill be ok haha

[Turbod]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Splash

How much would you recommend to bump the boost during the winter without a fmic upgrade? I'm really honestly just hungry for more sound and don't really want to wait till spring to upgrade the pipes and tune but doing it all plus fmic is a little out of budget for right now. After tax refunds ill be ok haha

This is a pretty cold day about 32 F after doing a 2 1/2 gear pull. The only thing that hasn't been done bolt on wise is the intercooler. This is using pump gas only for fuel. I don't recall at that temperature the DME starts pulling timing but it should be right around this point. Less timing at the same boost level is less power. Unless you're using E you will be octane limited and probably don't need to worry about how much boost you can run. Do I think running up to 120 - 150 is dangerous? No. I wouldn't want to see temps higher than that but that is just my opinion.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Splash

Hi, I currently live in PA and the weather is going to be quite cold for the next few months. I have a 2011 335i xdrive sedan with a bms intake and vrsf catback currently. I am looking to get vrsf catless downpipes, jb4 tune, and a VRSF fmic. My question is since it will be quite cold here for awhile would i be able to hold off on the fmic upgrade till spring to save some money and just not go crazy with the tune until I acquire the fmic upgrade?

I would do FMIC now since you are adding downpipe but if money is tight, yo can wait until spring.

Check out the vendor section for combo deals on JB4 / DP / Intercooler

[Tiago@VRSF]

Originally Posted by Turbod

IMO you should skip the VRSF DP and grab the Performance line one from Mike@N54Tuning.com. Better quality at the same price. The intercooler really comes down to how you drive your car and how much boost you plan to run. For single pulls here and there you will be fine with the stock one in the winter. If you are adding some E and running high boost IATs will climb faster.

Our new N55 downpipe offers a seamless cast flange as well as free ceramic coating which is easily a $80 value. It's in no way inferior to any available offering on the current market. The cast flange offers a smoother transition than a conventional pipe setup and it's the only ceramic downpipe available for the N55 with a cast merge flange.

[mike@x-ph.com]

+1 for VRSF downpipe

Spot on fitment, lifetime warranty, cast flange, ceramic coating for an unbeatable price

Here are what our customers have to say about it

[Tiago@VRSF]

Another reason we switched to the cast flange was to eliminate the chance of the flange warping at the welds which is common on a fixed double flange design like the N55 collector. It's almost impossible to keep both flanges lined up due to the heat of welding.

The only other solution is a flex section but the area is too small so we opted for the more expensive investment cast option. This eliminates the chance of the in cabin catless smell due to leaks at the flange commonly found on other options

[mrjcover]

Originally Posted by Tiago@VRSF

Another reason we switched to the cast flange was to eliminate the chance of the flange warping at the welds which is common on a fixed double flange design like the N55 collector. It's almost impossible to keep both flanges lined up due to the heat of welding.

The only other solution is a flex section but the area is too small so we opted for the more expensive investment cast option. This eliminates the chance of the in cabin catless smell due to leaks at the flange commonly found on other options

No wonder I smell it inside the car, even with the windows up and A/C on...

[Turbod]

Originally Posted by Tiago@VRSF

Our new N55 downpipe offers a seamless cast flange as well as free ceramic coating which is easily a $80 value. It's in no way inferior to any available offering on the current market. The cast flange offers a smoother transition than a conventional pipe setup and it's the only ceramic downpipe available for the N55 with a cast merge flange.

I saw that you offered a revised version of your N55 DP. It is true that the Performance Line DP is not coated but it does come with the transmission bracket that the original cat had. I have not seen a clear photo (with flash) of the internal transition of the new version so I cannot comment on any improvements made over the first version. The first version was so poor I sold it and bought a different pipe.

Originally Posted by mrjcover

No wonder I smell it inside the car, even with the windows up and A/C on...

I would not say that is the issue. It is possibly that whoever installed it didn't line it up perfectly and it may have a small leak. I would get under the car and look for any exhaust residue. You don't have to remove any under body paneling to see where the DP meets the rest of the exhaust system.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

FMIC could still help even in the cold winter but not nearly as much as it will in spring/summer.

If savings money is the concern now then go for the downpipes for sure.

The new VRSF N55 catless downpipes are actually really nice, highly recommend.

[Jimmy Splash]

Yeah I can most likely afford the DP and tune upgrade within the month but if I were to do DP, tune, and fmic I'd have to probably wait until April or May. With the VRSF catback broken in I am very anxious to upgrade to fully catless. Stock cats hold back so much sound and performance its unreal.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Here are non edited pictures of the catted VRSF ... Top quality finish and fitment

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Splash

Yeah I can most likely afford the DP and tune upgrade within the month but if I were to do DP, tune, and fmic I'd have to probably wait until April or May. With the VRSF catback broken in I am very anxious to upgrade to fully catless. Stock cats hold back so much sound and performance its unreal.

No need to do the FMIC now then. Plus nothing better then looking forward to new mods.

Get the Tune and DP. There will be significant gains with them together.